Mechanical brushing device and motor therefor



w. s. SUSSMAN MECHANICAL BRUSI'i'INGDEVIGE AND MOTOR THEREFOR Filed March 6, 1940 INVENTOR i/Qz/a/v'j'ass/vaw 7 7 MATTQRNEY Patented Oct. 21, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT oEFlcE MECHANICAL BRUSHING DEVICE AND MOTOR THERE-FOR William S. Sussman, New York, N. Y.

Application March 6, 1940, Serial No. 322,578 5 Claims. (Cl. 185-437) driven by a self-contained prime mover positioned within the handle of the device, the brushing element being detachably mounted on a moveable member and arranged in such a manner that it may be readily detached when it becomes worn through use and a new one inserted in its place.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved rotary brushing device, adapted particularly for brushing the teeth, wherein the bristles are mounted on a revolvable core in such a position as to enable the user to derive the maximum brushingefiectiveness with a motor of min imum power.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a novel spring motor of relatively small dimensions and being capable of storing considerable energy therein in order that the motor may deliver an unusual amount of power for a fair period of time.

The present motor is designed particularly for operating mechanical razors, tooth brushes, and the like, as Well as flashlights and other small articles. The relationship of the parts, including the spring and the train of gears, is such that the whole motor will occupy a very little space and fit conveniently within the hand of theuser.

Another object of the invention is to provide a small self-contained prime mover which is driven by a spring and includes a train of gears and governor structure so positioned relative to the spring as to leave the major portion of the motor housing free to accommodate a spring of considerable size.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of aspring motor wherein substantially the full measure of power stored in the spring by manual winding thereof, will be effectively deliveredto the driving gears.

Fig. '1 is a vertical section taken through the preferred embodiment of the present device, the section being taken on line l-| of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device with one cover portion removed. Fig. 3 is another vertical section taken through the device, such section being on line 3-3 of Fig. 2, the figure also showing a modified form of spring-winding mechanism. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on line 44 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on 1ine"5.5 of Fig. 2, the View showing the interior of the governor structure. Fig. 6 shows a modified winding means.

The preferred embodiment of the invention comprises opposed frame portions I0 and l I made preferably from sheet metal, and they are desirably'joined at their upper ends by means of a horizontal frame portion l2. This horizontal portion is formed with an aperture (not shown) through which a vertical shaft l5 passes, such shaft being journaled in a bearing member comprising a bearing portion l6 positioned below upper frame portion [2, and another bearing portion ll rigidly mounted on the upper surfacethereof. At the upper end of this bearing portion I! a sleeve [8 is secured, such'sleeve having a gear housing 19 rigidly imounted at the upper end thereof.

Thegear housing contains conventional gearing-(not shown) adapted to transmit motion from vertical shaft [5110 a substantially frustro-conically'shaped'brushing element having a curved outer terminal portion 2|, the brushing element beingparticularly adapted for tooth-brushing purposes. This brush is formed with a core 20 having a plurality of bristles 2| mounted therein. The core may, if desired, be formed in the identical shape of the brushing element 2| with tapered side walls and. a convexly curved forward end wall, as shown in Fig. 1, appropriately reduced in size, of course, and in this instance the bristles disposed over the tapered side walls of the core and over the curved outer or free end thereof will all 'be of substantiallyv uniform length. If desired, however, the core may be substantially cylindrical in shape and the desired shape of the conical brushing element obtained by merely trimming the ends of the bristles to produce the shape illustrated in Fig. 1. The bristles are preferably positioned at an angle to the radius of the core, the brushing element preferably revolving in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2. The brush is desirably removably mounted on a rotating spindle 22 and may be secured thereto by any conventional means, such as projections 23 carried by the brush which are received in recesses inspindle 22.

If desired a suitable eccentric cam may be positioned at the upper end of shaft 15 to impart reciprocating and oscillating movement to the brush, rather than rotative movement.

The opposed vertical frame portions l0 and II are maintainedin their spaced relation by means of a plurality of bolts 24 having heads 25, which pass through aligned apertures adjacent to the marginal edges of such frame members, each bolt carrying a spacer sleeve 21.

Opposed frame portions It! and H are further formed with a plurality of aligned apertures which serve as bearings for a plurality of shafts, shaft 29 being journaled adjacent to the lower end of the frame. A flat clock-type spring 30 is secured at its inner end to such shaft 29 by means of a pin 3| and at its outer end the spring is secured to the interior surface of a substantially cylindrical spring housing 33 by means of a pin 34. A gear 31 of slightly greater diameter than the external diameter of housing -33 is secured to such housing and constitutes the 'main drive gear of the motor. This gear is freely mounted for rotation on shaft 29.

The spring is wound by means of'manual rotation of shaft 29, this being accomplished by means of a hand-winding lever 39 which is pivotally mounted on extension 40 of shaft 29 at its right-hand end when viewed in the position shown in Fig. 2. At its opposite .end shaft 29 projects beyond frame member H], as shown at 42 (Fig. 2), and carries a conventional :circular .toothed ratchet wheel 4'4, the teeth of suchwheel being engaged by a pivoted pawl 45 which is urged .againstthe wheel by means of a spring 45 (Fig. 2).. The teeth of large gear 3'! .engage'the teeth of a small gear mounted on a shaft 5| whichis journaled adjacent to one terminal in frame member "ID. This shaft is journaled at its opposite .end in a suitable aperture in a substantially rectangular bearing plate 54. This plate is supported in a position spaced from .frame H] by :means of screws 56 carrying spacer sleeves L51.

Another plate :58 substantially triangular in :shape isalso carried by such screws and is inwardly spaced from plate 54. Shaft 5| carries anotherandlarger gearlifl which drives asmaller gear :52 carried on uppermost transverse shaft '63, such shaft being journaled -at its terminals in frame members I0 and H. Likewise keyed to shaft 63 is a beveled gear 65 which engages a somewhat smaller beveled gear 65 carried at thelower end 'of shaft 15.

Thus it'will be apparent that large gear 31 on spring housing 33 drives small gear 50 on shaft 5!, and large gear 65 likewise carried thereon tdrives small gear 62 keyed to shaft 63, which in turn drives beveled gear 65. Also keyed to shaft '63 is a gear 61 of considerable size which engages a small gear 68 mounted on a counter shaft 69, such-shaft being journaled in bearing plates 54 and .58. Shaft 53 likewise carries a somewhat larger gear .12 which drives a small gear 14 car ried on governor shaft 15, which latter shaft is journaled at one end in frame member II, and at .its other-end in bearing plate .54.

The governor comprisesa cup-shaped member .18 carrying a collar 19 which is keyed to shaft I5 by means of pin or set screw 85. A pair of curved vgovernor arms 84 are pivotally mounted at one end thereof .85, .on circular portion 86 of cup 18. Each governor arm is provided with a piece of feltor other resilient material '88, and outer terminal 50 of each arm is connectecl'with the-adjacent pivot by means of a small coil spring 3| As cup i8 is rotated through rotation of shaft '75, the outer terminals 90 .ofthese governor armsitend to move outwardly through centrifugal force, and .theresilient portions-'88 carriedon'the arms engage thelinner surface of a small cup 93 positioned Within cup 18 and secured to frame member ll.

Inward movement of governor arms 84 is limited by means of pins 94. The motor is held against rotative movement by means of a lever e5 which is centrally pivoted at 95, one end of such lever having a piece of felt or other similar material 91 secured thereto, such portion being normally urged against the exterior of cup 18 by means of spring 99. The lever is adapted to be moved by finger-engaging portion I00 which moves the opposite end of arm 95 away from cup 58, thus permitting operation of the motor.

The sides of the motor are closed by means of a substantially U-shaped housing portion I02, the upper terminals of which are secured to the lower surface of frame portion l2 by means of screws I03.

A modification in the winding mechanism is shown in Fig. 6 wherein a large, bevelled gear M5 is keyed to shaft 29 (not shown), such gear being engaged by a small bevelled gear mounted ona vertical shaft I58 at the lower end of the casing, such shaft carrying a winding cap IG'l-at its lower end.

It will be apparent that the brushing element shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may be varied in size and beemployed, or the entire sleeve [8 may be made removable. The prime mover for operating the brushing element may constitute a motor driven by electricity or other power, and may be provided with a rotating shaft or merely an oscillating movement, as desired.

The spring motor illustrated and described may also be varied without departing from the appended claims. It will be apparent, however, that by taking the energy from theouter terminal of the spring and delivering it to a main drive gear, such being the first of a train of speedmultiplying gears positioned closely adjacent to one side wall of the casing, a maximum amount of energy is imparted to the work adapted to be performed by the motor. For most purposes the governor shaft is preferably driven more rapidly than the final drive shaft and such governor shaft driven by speed multiplying gears starting at said final drive shaft. In cases however wherein a higher speed is desired in the motor, such-can be accomplished by varying the size of gears31, 6!! and 55, and in such case the governor may be positioned on shaft 53.

What -I claim is:

1. A spring driven power unit for a motor driven tooth brush having a tapered rotary brushing element, said power unit comprising a casing, a manually rotatable winding pin journalled within the casing adjacent to its lower end, a'flat coiled spring carried thereby and being secured at its inner end to the pin, a spring housing freely journalled on the pin, the outer end of the spring being anchored to the casing, a primary driving gear carried by the housing, a drive shaft operatively connected with the brushing element journalled adjacent to the upper end of the casing, a plurality of trains of speed multiplying gears between the driving gear and the drive shaft, a governor shaft, 2. speed governor carried thereby, and a plurality of speed multiplying gear trains between the drive shaft and the governor shaft to impart higher speed of rotation to the governor shaft than to the drive ment of the opposite ends of the arms due to centrifugal action, and an annular member fixed within the casing relative to the arms and engageable by the arms as the speed of rotation increases.

2. A spring driven power unit adapted to be held in the hand of the user and comprising a casing including a pair of spaced frame members, a manually rotatable winding shaft journalled between such frame members adjacent to their lower ends, a flat coiled spring carried thereby and being secured at its inner end to the shaft, a substantially cylindrical housing carried on the shaft and enclosing the spring, said spring being secured at its outer end to the housing, the spring occupying substantially the entire area between the frame members, a primary driving gear carried by the housing, a driven shaft journalled adjacent to the upper end of the frame members, and a plurality of trains of speed-multiplying gears between the primary gear and the driven shaft, a governor shaft and a train of speed-multiplying gears between the driven shaft and the governor shaft, a governor carried by the latter shaft and including a plurality of arms pivotally mounted at one end thereof on the governor, the opposite ends of the arms being urged inwardly by means of a coil spring, and a drive shaft operatively connected with the driven shaft and projecting from the casing.

3. A spring driven power unit adapted to be held in the hand of the user and comprising a casing including a pair of spaced frame mem- 'bers, a manually rotatable winding shaft journalled between such frame members adjacent to their lower ends, a flat coiled spring carried thereby and being secured at its inner end to the shaft, a substantially cylindrical housing carried on the shaft and enclosing the spring, said spring being secured at its outer end to the inner surface of the housing, the spring occupying substantially the entire area between the frame members, a primary driving gear carried by the housing, a driven shaft adjacent to the upper end of the frame members, and a plurality of trains of speed-multiplying gears between the primary gear and the driven shaft, a governor shaft and a plurality of trains of speed-multiplying gears between the driven shaft and the governor shaft, a cylindrical governor carried by the latter shaft, a fixed cup positioned within the governor, a pair of arms pivotally mounted within the governor adapted to bear against the cup to reduce the speed of the governor shaft, and a manually releasable brake normally engaging the governor.

4. In a motor driven tooth brush, the combi-' nation of a casing including a pair of spaced, elongated frame members adapted to be held in the hand of the user, a winding shaft journalled adjacent to the lower end of the frame, a primary driving gear freely journalled on said shaft, a coiled, fiat spring carried concentrically of said shaft and being secured thereto at its inner end, the outer end of the spring being operatively connected with the driving gear, a driven shaft journalled adjacent to the upper end of the frame, a governor shaft and a rotating governor carried thereby, and a train of speedmultiplying gears between the spring and the driven shaft, and between the driven shaft and the governor shaft, a sleeve projecting upwardly from the casing, a shaft positioned therein, gears connecting said shaft with the driven shaft, a rotary brushing element journalled at the upper end of the sleeve, and gears connecting the brushing element with the shaft in the sleeve.

5. In a mot-or driven tooth brush, the combination of a casing including a pair of spaced, elongated frame members adapted to be held in the hand of the user, a winding shaft journalled adjacent to the lower end of the frame, manual winding means carried by said shaft externally of the casing, a substantially cylindrical spring housing freely journalled on said shaft, a coiled, flat spring carried concentrically of said shaft and being secured thereto at its inner end, the

outer end of the spring being connected with said tween the driven shaft and the governor shaft, a

sleeve projecting upwardly from the casing, a drive shaft positioned therein, gears connecting said shaft with the driven shaft, a rotary brushing element journalled at the upper end of the sleeve at substantially right angles to the drive shaft, gears connecting the brushing element with the drive shaft, and a releasable brake normally restraining rotation of the governor.

WILLIAM S. SUSSMAN. 

